Dipper and server.



G. U. WILLIAMS.

DIPPER AND SERVER. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10, 1909.

I 923,229, Patented June 1, 1909.

i UNITED STA To all whom it may concern:

CHARLES (-ASPER WILLIAMS, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

DIPPER AND SERVER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1 1909.

Application filed February 10, 1909. Serial No. 477,054.

, Beit known that I, CHARLES C. VIL- LIAMs,'a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State ofOhio, have invented certain new-and useful Im rovements in Dippers and'Servers, of whic the following is a specification.

I Myinvention relates to a liquid dipper or server and especially to adevice of this char- [acter which is designed, primarily, to measure andtrans'fer from a bottle or other original recelver the cream needed fora cup of coiiee.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple device to be used formeasuring and ,transferring from a bottle or other receiver a charge ofcream suflicient for individual use, and wherein the device is providedwith anormally 0 en spring presscd valve which is' closable y thumb,pressure after the measure has received its charge, said valveautomatically opening to allow the cream to be discharged directly intoa on of coffee or other beverage when the thum pressure is removed.

While intended primarily as a table utensil adapted to measure and servecream for individual cups of coffee, tea, chocolate and like beverage,the device is not limited to such use andwill be found useful in other ifields and wherever it is desired to remove measured charges of liquidfrom one vessel 7 --for the purpose of delivering the same into anotherv for any purpose whatever, consequently in size or capacity the devicewill be varied to meet its particular uses.

With the above and other objects in view,

my invention consists of the parts and the constructions andcombinations of parts which I will hereinafter describe and claim.

In the accom anying drawings forming partof thisspec' cation and inwhich similar I I reference characters'indicate like parts in theseveral vieWs-:-Figure Us a perspective view of a liquid measuring andserving device embodying' the salient features of my invention, Fig. 2isa vertical sectional view of the same,

' on the line XX of Fig. 1, Figs. 3 and 4 are views similar to Fig. -1,but showing modifications thereof. A

In the'afor'esaid drawings I have shown a of coffee, or other beverage.The general design of the cup however, is unim ortant, as well as itssize and capacity and t e material of which it is made.

If intended for table use, the cup may be of metal, glass, china, orother material; the precious metals may also, be employed in theconstruction of the device to suit the fancy of intended purchasers orusers, and said cup ma be given such ornamentation as individua tastesmay desire.

In thelower end of one of the vertical sides of the cup is provided an oening a, through which the cream or other iquid enters anddischargesfrom the cup, said opening extending to the bottom of the cup to insurethe discharge of the entire charge of said opening is moved to uncoverthe same.

The cup has rigidly fixed to it, a handle B, of appropriate length andmaterial and which may consist of two parallel wires bent at the upperend to form a suitable handle by which the device may be convenientlyand firml grasped by the fingers. Any other and we 1 known type ofhandle may, however be used without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

An important feature of my invention is the gate or valve which controlsthe combined filling and discharge opening of the cup, and the manner inwhich said valve operates.

The valve C, shown is of the sllding-gate t pe and it has a stem 0,which extends par a lel with the handle or stem of the cup and -isslidably guided on the latter by means of bearings or guides d, saidvalve stem extending, preferably, a slight distance above the upper orbent end of the handle of the cup and having its upper end formed orprovided with a button or enlarged thumbpiece 6.

A spring, of some suitable character is so attached to the valve stem asto insure the valve being open, and normally uncovering the opening inthe side of the cup, A, said spring adapted to yield when pressure isapplied to the thumb-piece c, and the valve stem and valve moved in adirection opposite to the power exerted by the spring.

In Fig. 1, the spring E, is of a well known type having one end attachedto the valve stem and the other end attached to the handle of the cup,said spring being normally 1 under tension whereby the valve stem 1snormally retracted to cause the gate or valve proper to normally uncoverthe opening in the side of the cup A.

V The gate valve shown is in the cross-sectional form of a segment whosecurvature conforms to that of the inner wall of the cup, A, but it willbe understood that the crosssection of the gate or valve will varyaccording to the character of the inner wall of the cup. In other words,the gate or valve is designed to closely conform and slide parallel toand in contact with the inner wall of said cupyand to completely coverthe side opening in the cup when a transfer of cream or liquid is beingmade from one vessel to another.

If desired the gate or valve mayslide on a lining or thin layer, g, ofcork or other material, and may close endwise on a similar piece h, onthe inner bottom of the cup, to insure a leak-tight joint about thewalls of the opening a. bottom of the cup immediately under the openinga, to thereby preserve an even surface and overcome any tendency of theclosing pressure of the gate or valve to force the bottom out of itstrue position.

The device of Fig. 3, is similar to the one shown in Fig. 1, except thehandle B, of the cup is made of a single piece of heavy wire or itsequivalent and the bent upper end is provided with a Wood or otherseparate handle, H. Likewise the device of Fig. 4 is similar to thedevice of Fig. 3, except that a rubber band E is used as the spring foropening the valve. The valve C, in this instance consists of a disk, 0,fixed to the lower end of the valve stem and a disk 0, of cork or othersuitable material which is secured to the stern by suitable means, saidvalve adapted to close .an opening a which in this instance is formed inthe bottom of the cup. A curved piece m, fixed to the stem slides incontact with the inner wall of the cup and assists in guiding thestem inits movements.

It will be understood that the valve is normally held open in the'deviceof Fig. 4 as previously described for the deviceof Fig. 1. It will alsobe observed that the stem of the valve is bent slightly in its length orgiven just bend enough so that as v it slides through the guide which isfixed to the lower part'of the handle, said stem will be drawn towardthe handle to cause the valve to hold closer to its seat but not withenough pressure to make said valve slide hard on said seat.

' In using my device, the cup is lowered into the cream or otherreceptacle; the valve being retracted and the opening a, being full openit is manifest that the cream will, without changing the normal positionof the I may also, stifl'en or reinforce the valve or holding any partof the device under tension, and without displacing the cream to causeapossible overflow from the bottle, immediately flow into the cup. Whenthe desired amount enters the cup, the valve is closed by the pressureof the thumb on the button or piece 6, when the device can be safelylifted out of the cup and transferred to a point over the coffee orother receiver, and when the pressure is removed from the piece, 6, thespring acts to immediately and automatically lift the valve and allowthe contents to freely fiow out of the cup A 1nto the coflee cup and todrain the very last of the contents without tipping the device.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. A device of the character described,consisting of a cup having a combined filling and discharge opening inits side, a handle rigid with the cup, a gate valve inside of the cupand slidable in contact with the inner wall thereof, a stem extendingfrom the valve parallel with and guided on said han-v dle, a springhaving its ends connected to the handle and valve-stem respectively andacting to normally raise the valve to uncover the opening in the cup,said valve stem having a finger piece by which it is operated to causethe valve to close said opening, and said spring adapted to have itstension increased during the closing movement of said valve, and toautomatically retract the valve when the pressure on the finger piece isremoved.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a cuphaving a combined filling and discharge opening in its side andextending clear. to the bottom thereof, of a gate valve slidableparallel with the inner wall of said cup and adapted to close saidopening, a spring connected to the valve and normally under tensionwhereby it holds the valve normally retracted and out of register withthe opening, means whereby a pressure may be placed upon the valve tomove the same into register with the opening, said spring adapted tohave its tension increased during the closing movement of the valve, andto automatically retract the valve when the pressure on the latter isremoved, and a reinforcement fixed to the bottom of the cu immediatelyunder the opening in line wit the lower edge of the valve. In testimonywhereof I aflix my signature in'presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES CASPER WILLIAMS. Witnesses:

THos. J. BUEFORD, R. H. SCHNEPF.

